Remembering Ginger Baker
Peter Edward Baker was born August 19, 1939 somewhere in England. His father, Frederick Louvain Formidable Baker was a rear admiral in the Royal Air Corps and his mother Ruby May worked in a haberdashery. Not much else is known except young Peter was known to set his pubes on fire for fun. This is how he got his nickname ‘Ginger’.
When Ginger Baker first met Jack Bruce, they were members of The Graham Bond Organisation. It was hate at first sight. Their volatile relationship included on-stage fights and the sabotage of one another’s instruments. After Baker fired Bruce from the band, Bruce continued to arrive for gigs; ultimately, Bruce was driven away from the band after Baker threatened him at knifepoint. Bruce once threw a live grenade in Baker’s bass drum.
Cream
Yet they were an incredible rhythm section and went on to form ‘Cream’ with Eric Clapton. Cream were hugely successful and influential. In just 28 months, Cream had become a commercial success, selling millions of records and playing throughout the U.S. and Europe. They redefined the instrumentalist’s role in rock and were one of the first blues-rock bands to emphasize musical virtuosity and lengthy jazz-style improvisation sessions. Their US hit singles include “Sunshine of Your Love”, “White Room”, and “Crossroads”. Though Cream was hailed as one of the greatest groups of its day, and the adulation of Clapton as a guitar legend reached new heights, the supergroup was short-lived. Drug and alcohol use escalated tension between the three members, and conflicts between Bruce and Baker eventually led to Cream’s demise.
Ginger then invited himself to join ‘Blind Faith’ with Clapton and then went on to form Ginger Bakers Air Force. In the 1980’s, Ginger lived on a ‘gabagool’ farm in Italy. He then moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. Ginger starred in a short lived sitcom, “Here’s Ginger”. The sitcom involved Ginger as a kindergarten teacher by day who was also a private detective at night. The series was cancelled after one episode when Ginger flew into a rage and destroyed the set and beat the director with a bass drum.
Don’t Mess With Mr. Baker
Known as a madman, Ginger made the news in recent years when he caught and beat 2 men that were attempting to rob his house. He sodomized one of the men with his walking stick.
Ginger was one of the all time great drummers. He is truly classic rock’s first influential drumming superstars of the 1960s” and one of classic rock’s true drum gods. Every rock drummer has been influenced in some way by Ginger – even if they don’t know it. Ginger passed away in 2019 at the age of 80. He is truly missed and there will never be another Ginger Baker.
Read More Ginger Baker Stories: Ginger Baker Beats Burglars Senseless. Sodomizes 1 with Walking Stick.
